Book binding machine mechanism



March 24, 1964 Filed July 21, 1960 w. A. BOUVIER ETAL 3, 25,887

BOOK BINDING MACHINE MECHANISM s Shets-Sheec 1 Ward 4. Bow/4e?" Will {am M. 545561? March 1964 w. A. BOUVIER ETAL 3,125,887

BOOK BINDING MACHINE MECHANISM Filed July 21, 1960 s Sheets-Sheet 2 .[ZYZEUfUf'E Waxrd d. Boar/Tier March 24, 1964 w. A. BOUVIERI ETAL 3,125,887

. BOOK BINDING MACHINE MECHANISM Filed July 21, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 fUZ'EZYfDFE Ward 4. fiouwv'er William M fia-jsei't' Eff 5.

United States Patent 3,125,887 BOOK BINDER MACHHNE MECHANISM Ward A. Bouvier, Waueonda, and William M. Bassett,

Highland Park, 11%., assignors to General Binding Corporation, Northbrool-r, iii, a corporation of lliinois Filed July 21, 1966, Ser. No. 44,387 3 Claims. (Cl. 74-20) This invention relates to improvements in book binding machines and more particularly relates to a machine for binding a stack of sheets by punching a stack of sheets and uncurling the rings by plastic binding elements to accommodate the sheets to be impaled on the resilient rings of the plastic binding elements.

A principal object of the invention is to provide an improved form of book binding machine arranged with a view toward utmost simplicity in construction and operation, for punching a stack of sheets for binding and at the same time uncurling the rings of a plastic binding element and retaining the rings in position to accommodate a stack of sheets to be impaled thereon.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved form of book binding machine in which the speed of the binding operation is increased by simultaneously effecting a punching operation of a stack of sheets and an uncurling operation of plastic binding rings, to accommodate a stack of sheets to be impaled on the binding rings, all while performing a punching operation on a next succeeding stack of sheets.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simplified and improved form of punching and binding machine in which the punching and binding operations are simultaneously effected by movement of an operating lever for the machine in one direction.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved operating mechanism for simultaneously operating a gang punch and uncurling the binding rings of a plastic binding element, arranged with a View toward utmost simplicity and efficiency in construction and operation.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved form of gang punch utilizing set pins slidably carried in a reciprocating punch bar to select a desired punching pattern, having a novel and improved form of stripping means for the punches operated by the set pins for the punches.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a simplified and improved form of binding machine in which the uncurling operation of the binding ring is effected in a simpler manner than formerly.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings where- FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a book binding machine constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partial fragmentary vertical sectional view taken through the machine shown in FIGURE 1 with the casing and operating lever for the machine removed;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of the binding apparatus, looking substantially along line IIIIII of FIGURE 2 with the operating mechanism therefor removed; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged detail plan view of the die set and punches.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, we have shown a book binding machine 10, including a main frame 11 having a detachable casing 12 enclosing the punching and binding mechanism and opening to the front of the machine to accommodate a stack 3,125,887 Patented Mar. 24, 1964 of sheets (not shown) to be inserted beneath a stripper plate 13 for a gang of punches 15, into engagement with a back gage 16, gaging the spacing of the punched holes from the inner edge of the stack of sheets. 7

The casing 12 has a cover plate 17 detachably mounted on the side walls thereof having a slotted plate 19 for uncurling hooks 24?, extending through a series of slots 21 extending along said cover plate from teeth 23 of a holding comb 24. The holding comb 24 is shown in FIGURE 2 as being secured to and extending upwardly from an upright plate 25 having a right angle base portion 28 mounted on the top surface of the main frame 11 and extending rearwardly therefrom.

The uncurling fingers 20 are mounted on and extend upwardly from a rockable binding arm 26 and are in alignment with the teeth 23 of the comb 24, when the binding arm 26 is in the retracted position shown in FIG- URES 2 and 3.

The slots 21 in the slotted plate 19 have widened portions 27 adjacent the teeth 23 of the comb 24, to accommodate movement of the uncurling hooks 20 along the teeth 23 and widened portions 27 of the slots 21 into the spaces between the teeth 23 to engage the rings of a binding element (not shown) extending in the spaces between the teeth 23, and to then move along the slots 21 away from the comb 24 to uncurl the rings of the binding element and accommodate a stack of sheets to be impaled thereon.

The binding elements are of a type well known to those skilled in the art having a backbone and curled fingers extending therefrom, and shown and described in the patent to Drouvry No. 1,970,285. The method of uncurling the ring of the binding elements by moving uncurling hooks into the curled fingers of the binding element and then by moving the uncurling hooks away from the comb 24 to uncurl the rings while the backbone of the binding element is retained in position by the comb is also well known to those skilled in the art so need not herein be shown or described further.

The main frame 11 includes a front table or platform 36 in front of the gang punches 15 upon which a stack of sheets may be placed, to effect a punching operation thereof. The table 30 has a slot 31 extending transversely thereacross for a portion of the width of the machine and having a stop or gage 32 mounted therein for adjustable movement therealong, to gage the position of the punched holes with respect to the side of the stack of sheets to be punched.

The table 30 also has a recessed portion 33 therein, extending across said table and receiving die plates 35 of die sets 36, which may be placed in end-to-end relation along the recessed portion 33, with the top surfaces of the die plates 35 flush with the top of the table 30.

Each die set 36 includes a die plate 35, an associated stripper plate 13 spaced above said die plate, a guide 37 formed integrally with said stripper plate and spaced thereabove, a gang of punches 15 guided in said stripper plate and guide 37, a stripper member 39 for the punches 15, a pin 40 extending through each punch 15 and limiting upward travel of the punch, and a spring 41 for each punch, encircling the punch and interposed between the upper side of the stripper plate 13 and the underside of the stripper member 39.

The stripper plate 13 "has a downwardly stepped rear end portion 43 supporting said stripper plate on the die plate 35 and suitably secured thereto. The stripper plate 13 also has an upright forward end portion 44 having the guide 37 turned inwardly therefrom. The punches 15 are shown as being rectangular in form and extend through rectangular apertured portions 45 in the guide 37, and through corresponding registered apertured por- S tions 46 and 47 in the stripper plate 13 and die plate 35 respectively.

The back gage 16 is adjustably mounted in the space between the die plate 35 and the stripper plate 13 and is connected with racks 47 at its opposite ends suitably guided for movement along the table 30 and meshed with pinions 48 on a shaft 50 rotatably mounted in end plates 51 for the punching mechanism and manually operated by the turning movement of a knob 52 on the outer end of said shaft. One pinion 48 has an arm 53 extending therefrom having an apertured portion 54 therein adapted to register with suitable apertured portions 55 in the associated plate 51 and to be retained in registry with said apertured portions as by a pin (not shown), retaining the back gage 16 in the proper position of adjustment.

Each end plate 51 has an inwardly extending vertical guide portion 56 at its forward end, adapted to form a guide for a reciprocating pressure bar 57. The pressure bar 57 has spaced elongated plates 59 and 6% extending along its forward and rear end portions respectively, and suitably secured to said pressure bar and depending therefrom. The elongated plates 59 and 61) are provided with a plurality of aligned apertures (not shown) spaced therealong forming guides for set pins 61, for slidably supporting said set pins to be moved into or out of registry with associated punches 15, to render said punches effective or ineffective to effect a punching operation.

The plate 59 has a flanged portion 63 of a guide member 65 secured to and extending along its outer side. The guide member 65 forms a guide for the set pins 61, and has a depending portion 66 abutted by the lower end portions of over-center leaf springs 67, secured to the lower end portion 66 of the guide 65, as by a pressure strip 69, abutting the rear end portions of the over-center leaf springs 67. An individual over-center leaf spring 67 is provided for each set pin 61. Each leaf spring 67 engages a recessed portion 70 of the associated set pin 61, at its upper end and retains said set pin in an efiective position to operate an associated punch 15 when in the position shown in FIGURE 2 and also retains said set pin in an ineifective position, to operate an associated punch, when in an opposite over-center position from the position shown in FIGURE 2. The leaf springs 67 are under tension when in their center or vertical positions and snap past their center positions as they are manually moved by depression or pulling on the set pins 61, and thereby retain the pins in their selected positions.

The stripper member 39 extends upwardly from beneath the pins 40, parallel to and in inwardly spaced relation with respect to the punches 15, and has an inwardly spaced upper end portion '71, which is apertured to accommodate an associated set pin 61 to pass therethrough. The stripper member 39 may thus move downwardly with the set pin 61 against its associated spring 41 upon the downstroke of the pressure bar 57 and is pulled upwardly by the associated set pin 61 to react against the pin 40 extending through the punches and positively strip the punches from the stack of sheets punched.

The table 30 has a slotted portion 73 extending therealong beneath the die slots 47 in the die plate 35, to accommodate the material punched from the stacks of sheets to drop into a tray 74, which is removably mounted in the main frame 11 beneath the table top 30, in a well known manner.

The pressure bar 57 is operated in a punching direction by means of a transversely extending rock shaft 75, journalled in the opposite end plates 51 and extending outwardly beyond one end plate 71 through a side wall of the casing 12. An operating lever 76 suitably secured to said rock shaft and having a hand grip '77 extending outwardly from the outer end thereof is provided to operate said rock shaft. The rock shaft 75 has a slot 79 extending therealong, registering with a tang 80 extending rearwardly of the plate 60, at right angles with respect thereto. Thus, when pressure is applied to the hand grip 77 to move the hand lever '76 downwardly, the rock shaft 75 will be rocked in the direction of movement of the hand lever 76, and will cam the pressure bar 57 downwardly along the guide members 53, and move the gang of punches 15 downwardly by the associated set pins 61, to effect a punching operation, Reverse move ment of the hand lever 76 will move the pressure bar 57 upwardly and positively strip the punches from the stack of sheets being punched by operation of the stripper 39 moved upwardly with the pressure bar 15, by the set pins 61.

The rock shaft 75 also has a plurality of lever arms 81 extending radially therefrom in an opposite direction from the slot 79 and having recessed spool-like follower end portions 83 engageable with vertically extending camming slots 85 in the binding arm 26, for moving the binding arm along the axis of a support shaft 86, and then rocking said binding arm about the axis of said shaft in a direction away from the comb 23.

As shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the shaft 36 is mounted at its opposite ends 011 support collars 88 extending inwardly from opposite end plates 89, secured to opposite ends of the upright plate 25 adjacent the lower end portion thereof and extending forwardly therefrom. Opposite lower end portions of the binding arm 26 are inwardly recessed as indicated by reference numeral 90. The inner end portions of the recessed portions 90 have brackets 91 extending rearwardly therefrom and slidably and rotatably mounting the binding arm 26 on the shaft as. A spring 93 encircles one end portion of the shaft 86, and is interposed between the collar 88 and an associated bracket 91, to bias the binding arm 26 in centered relation with respect to the shaft 86. The binding arm 26 is thus moved axially along the shaft 86 to bring the spreading hooks 20 into engagement with the curled fingers of the binding elements on the comb 24 against the spring 93, and is returned to the centered position shown in FIGURE 3, at the termination of the binding operation.

Each cam slot 85 has a widened lower end portion 95 opening through a rearwardly extending right angled portion 96, of the binding arm 26, and spaced beneath the shaft 86 and the brackets 91. The widened lower end portion 95 of the cam slot 85 is shaped to receive an end flange 97 defining the end of the follower portion 83 of the associated lever arm 31, and moving upwardly along the rear or inner side of the binding arm 26 upon upward pivotal movement of the associated lever arm 81.

The widened lower end portion 95 of each cam slot 85 converges to a vertically extending slot portion 99 which terminates into an angular slot portion 100 leading angularly upwardly to a vertical slot portion 101 of the camming slot 85. A wear plate 103 extends along one side of the vertical slot portion 101 of the cam slot 85, While a wear plate 104 extends along the opposite of the vertical slot portion 101 of the cam slot 85. A third wear plate 105 extends along the side of the angular portion 100 of. the caming slot 85, against which the follower portion 83 bears when moving the binding arm 26 against the spring 93 as said follower portion 83 swings in an upward direction. Similar wear plates 106 extend along the rear side of the binding arm 26 along the camming slots 85.

It may thus be seen that as the rock shaft '75 moves in a direction, which is shown in FIGURE 2 as being in a clockwise direction, to elfect a punching operation, the camming lever arms 81 and follower portions 83 thereof, engaging the cam slots 85, will move the binding arm 26 in a direction which is shown in FIGURE 3 as being to the right against the spring 93, to bring the spreading hooks 20 in registry with the spaces between the teeth 23. Continued movement of the rock shaft 75 and lever arms 81 will then move the binding arm 26 about the ax s of the shaft 85 in a direction away from the comb 24. Upon return movement of the rock shaft 85, a tension spring 107 hooked at one end to the binding arm 26 above the cam slot 85, and at its opposite end to the upright plate 25 adjacent the lower end thereof, will return the binding arm 26 to the retracted position shown in FIGURES 2 and 3.

It may be seen from the foregoing that after one stack of sheets, to be bound by a plastic binding element, has been punched, a substantially continuous binding operation may be attained by depression of the hand lever 76 to punch one stack of sheets and at the same time uncurl the rings of a binding element on the comb 24, and impale another stack of sheets on the uncurled binding rings, all while the operating lever 76 is depressed, and then stripping the punches from the stack of sheets punched, and accommodating the binding rings to curl to their closed positions upon reverse movement of the lever 76. Thus, a punching and binding operation may be attained upon a pressure and return stroke of the oscillatable shaft 76, and stacks of sheets may be successively punched and bound with no delay between the punching and binding operations.

It may further be seen that the operating mechanism for the punches and binding arm is of an extremely simple form and that the set pins determining the punching pattern also serve to drive the stripping means for stripping the punches from the stack of sheets punched.

While we have herein shown and described one form in which our invention may be embodied, it should be understood that various modifications and variations in the invention may be attained without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof, as defined by the claims appended hereto.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a mechanism for simultaneously operating a plurality of elements to perform work operations, such as a punching operation and a binding ring opening operation, a frame, a horizontal rock shaft pivotally mounted on said frame, an element on one side of said rock shaft guided for vertical linear movement, a second element on the opposite side of said rock shaft mounted on said frame for axial movement in a direction parallel to the axis of said rock shaft and for rockable movement toward and from said rock shaft, a pin and slot interengaging camming connection between said rock shaft and said vertically movable element, a camming lever extending radially from said rock shaft in a direction away from said vertically movable element, a camming slot extending along said second element, and an interengaging camming connection between said radially extending camming lever and said camming slot, for effecting axial movement of said second mentioned element along its axis of rocking movement and then rocking said element toward said rock shaft upon operation of said rock shaft to vertically move said first mentioned element to effect a Work operation.

2. In a mechanism for simultaneously operating a plurality of elements to perform work operations, such as a punching operation and a binding ring opening operation,

a frame, a horizontal rock shaft rockably mounted on said frame, a first element guided for vertical linear movement on one side of said rock shaft, a second element on the opposite side of said rock shaft, mounted on said frame for axial movement in a direction parallel to the axis of said rock shaft and for rockable movement toward and from said rock shaft, a pin and slot camming connection between said rock shaft and said first mentioned element, for effecting downward movement of said first mentioned element upon rockable movement of said rock shaft, a camming lever arm extending radially from said rock shaft in a direction away from said vertically movable element, and an interengaging camming connection between said camming lever arm and said second element for axially moving said second element along its axis of rocking movement and then rocking said second element about its axis toward said rock shaft upon operation of said vertically movable element to effect a Work operation, comprising a camming slot extending vertically along said second element and having an angularly off-set lower end portion, a slidable connection between said camming lever arm and said slot, and a bearing connection between said camming lever arm and the opposite side of said second element from said rock shaft.

3. In a mechanism for operating a plurality of elements to simultaneously perform work operations, such as a punching operation and a binding ring opening operation, a frame a horizontal rock shaft rockably mounted on said frame, a first element on one side of said rock shaft guided for vertical linear movement with respect to said frame, a second element on the opposite side of said rock shaft mounted on said frame for axial movement in a direction parallel to the axis of said rock shaft and for rockable movement toward and from said rock shaft, a slot extending along said rock shaft, a pin extending from said first element, and having engagement with said slot, a camming lever arm extending radially from said rock shaft in a direction away from said first element, a camming slot extending vertically along said second element and having an angularly off-set lower end portion, said camming lever having a reduced follower portion extending through said camming slot and having a flanged outer end portion having bearing engagement with the opposite side of said second element from said rock shaft, to effect movement of said second element along its rocking axis and to rock said second element toward said first element upon vertical movement of said first element in a downward direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,200,672 Kern May 14, 1940 2,334,815 Emmer Nov. 23, 1943 2,389,105 Kern Nov. 13, 1945 2,586,117 Taylor Feb. 19, 1952 2,603,801 Emmer July 22, 1952 2,898,613 Frederick Aug. 11, 1959 2,908,173 Bardy Oct. 13, 1959 

1. IN A MECHANISM FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY OPERATING A PLURALITY OF ELEMENTS TO PERFORM WORK OPERATIONS, SUCH AS A PUNCHING OPERATION AND A BINDING RING OPENING OPERATION, A FRAME, A HORIZONTAL ROCK SHAFT PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME, AN ELEMENT ON ONE SIDE OF SAID ROCK SHAFT GUIDED FOR VERTICAL LINEAR MOVEMENT, A SECOND ELEMENT ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF SAID ROCK SHAFT MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME FOR AXIAL MOVEMENT IN A DIRECTION PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF SAID ROCK SHAFT AND FOR ROCKABLE MOVEMENT TOWARD AND FROM SAID ROCK SHAFT, A PIN AND SLOT INTERENGAGING CAMMING CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID ROCK SHAFT AND SAID VERTICALLY MOVABLE ELEMENT, A CAMMING LEVER EXTENDING RADIALLY FROM SAID ROCK SHAFT IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM SAID VERTICALLY MOVABLE ELEMENT, A CAMMING SLOT EXTENDING ALONG SAID SECOND ELEMENT, AND AN INTERENGAGING CAMMING CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID RADIALLY EXTENDING CAMMING LEVER AND SAID CAMMING SLOT, FOR OFFECTING AXIAL MOVEMENT OF SAID SECOND MENTIONED ELEMENT ALONG ITS AXIS OF ROCKING MOVEMENT AND THEN ROCKING SAID ELEMENT TOWARD SAID ROCK SHAFT UPON OPERATION OF SAID ROCK SHAFT TO VERTICALLY MOVE SAID FIRST MENTIONED ELEMENT TO EFFECT A WORK OPERATION. 